Adapter assembly for magazine containing blank cartridges



Sept. 9 1969 GRANDY ET AL 3,465,463

ADAPTER ASSEMBLY FOR MAGAZINE CONTAINING BLANK CARTRIDGES Filed March13, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A8 l5 -u 27 28 ISA L9 Fig.1

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I T RS ANDREW QJYEQAQDY ALFRED P BATEZELL ANGELO S. SPINELLI SEYMOURD.ME5OUM ep 9, 1969 A. GRANDY ET AL 3,465,463

ADAPTER ASSEMBLY FOR MAGAZINE CONTAINING BLANK CARTRIDGES Filed March13, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mv T RS ANDREW J. G AM DY ALFRED P BATEZELLI4A ANGELO s. SPINELLI l4 sawm l De.MESQUI'IZ\ BYM 4 i W W 4'- I l #M 01ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,465,463 ADAPTER ASSEMBLY FOR MAGAZINECONTAINING BLANK CARTRIDGES Andrew J. Grandy, North Hills, and Angelo S.Sprnelll, Philadelphia, Pa., Seymour De Mesquita, Camden, N.J., andAlfred P. Batezell, Montgomery, Pa., assignors to the United States ofAmerica as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Mar. 13, 1968,Ser. No. 712,635 Int. Cl. F41c 25/02 US. C]. 42-50 2 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A conventional small arms magazine is provided with anelongated longitudinally grooved follower guide adjacent the magazineinterior rear wall. A follower, having a rearwardly projecting tongueslidably positioned within the follower groove with a further rearwardlyprojecting finger at a lowermost portion of the tongue, moves cartridgesupwardly and into the weapon chamber. The follower guide has a slotextending transversely to the groove that slidably receives a latchwhich is moved upwardly into the operative path of a cartridgechambering bolt after the last cartridge in the magazine has beenexpended.

The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensedby or for the Government for governmental purposes without the paymentto us of any royalty thereon.

Military field exercises involving simulated combat conditions areessential in the training of modern infantry units. During theseexercises, as well as on other occasions, the small arms carried by theinfantrymen are provided with blank cartridges to add a touch of realismto the maneuvers. In the past, casualties have occurred during theseexercises which were attributed to the inadverent presence of ball typeammunition among the blank cartridges and some attempts have been madeto obviate this hazardous condition.

A prior art blank firing safety attachment for small arms, isillustrated in US. Patent 2,355,045, issued to H. R. Audet. As seen inthe Audet patent, magazines may be adapted to accommodate blankcartridges by providing the magazines with inserts in their forwardends. These inserts reduce the magazine length for the reception ofblank cartridges which are generally shorter than ball type cartridges.The presence of the insert in this type of magazine positions theforwardmost portion of the cartridge rearwardly of the cartridge chamberat a distance which is not conducive to good cartridge chambering. Forexample, a ball type cartridge in a magazine having no insert, will haveits tip or point positioned close to the rear of the cartridge chamberbefore the bolt closes and chambers the cartridge. The position of thecartridge in conjunction with the chamfered surfaces on the rearperipheral surface of the cartridge chamber, facilitate positive andrapid chambering. In a magazine having a forward insert and a blankcartridge, the forwardmost portion of the cartridge must travel agreater distance than its ball type counterpart, and, lacking the smoothcontour of a projectile or ball, cartridge chambering becomes erraticand frequent gun jams result.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a small armsmagazine with an adapter assembly which facilitates the chambering ofblank cartridges.

It is another object of this invention to provide a magazine adapterassembly which will prevent any ball type cartridges from being loadedwith blank cartridges.

3,465,463 Patented Sept. 9, 1969 A further object of this invention isthe provision of a magazine adapter assembly which may be utilized inconjunction with existing magazines that can be retrofitted in thefield.

These and other objects are effected in the present invention byproviding a conventional small arms magazine with an elongatedlongitudinally grooved follower guide positioned within the magazineadjacent the magazine rear wall. The magazine follower has a rearwardlyprojecting tongue slidably positioned within the groove with the weapon,the rearwardly projecting follower finger A latch, slidably positionedwithin a slot in the follower guide, reciprocates between an upperposition and a lower position in response to the translation of thefollower within the magazine. After the last blank cartridge containedin the magazine has been fired and ejected from the weapon, therearwardly projecting follower finger will engage the latch and move itupwardly into the operative path of the cartridge chambering bolt tothereby maintain the weapon chamber in an opened condition. The presenceof the follower guide at the rear of the magazine prevents long balltype cartridges from being inadvertently loaded within the magazine andalso facilitates chambering of the shorter blank cartridges bypositioning the cartridge forwardmost portion in close proximity withthe rearwardmost end of the weapon chamber.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparentin the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away and sectioned,showing a small arms magazine embodying features of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective, fragmentary view of the magazine adapter ofFIG. 1 illustrating the cooperation between the follower, the followerguide and the latch.

FIG. 3 is a perspective, fragmentary view of the adapter assembly ofFIG. 2 with the follower and latch shown in the empty magazine uppermostposition.

A conventional small arms weapon magazine 10 (FIG. 1), having front,rear and side walls, 11, 12 and 13 respectively, and a bottom wall 12A,is provided with an elongated follower guide 14. Follower guide 14,positioned within magazine 10 adjacent the interior of rear wall 12, hasa front wall 14A provided with a longitudinal groove 15 (FIG. 3)extending along its entire length. Follower guide 14 may be constructedfrom any suitable material such as metal or plastic as may be dictatedby good economical design considerations.

A cartridge support or follower 16 having a integral cartridge-shapedform 17, is positioned within magazine 10 and is urged upwardly by theaction of helical compression spring 18 which is positioned betweenfollower 16 and the lower magazine wall. Follower 16 has forwardappendages 19 which engage limits or stops 20 that contain follower 16within magazine 10. Follower rear end 20A hasa downwardly projectingportion 21 integral therewith, and a rearwardly projecting tongue 22extending along portion 21 and which has a further rearwardly projectingfinger 23 at its lowermost end. As one skilled in the art would readilyobserve, the depth of groove 15 in the forward face of follower guide 14must be such as to permit free translation relative to magazine 10 offollower 16 and its rearwardly projection portions.

A slot 24 is formed within the rear wall 15A of follower guide 14 andextends transversely to longitudinal groove 15. The depth of slot 24 issuch that an opening or aperture 25 (FIG. 3) is formed at theintersection between slot 24 and groove 15. Follower finger 23 isposttioned in registry with aperture 25 in response to the upwardtranslation of follower 16. The position of slot 24 relative to themagazine lower wall, as well as the slot width in the upward direction,are dependent upon the design factors of latch 26 which will next bediscussed.

Latch 26 has an upwardly protruding portion 27 and a lower portion 28integral therewith which extends transversely to groove 15 and which isslidably positioned within slot 24. The length of latch upwardlyprotruding portion 27 is adjusted so that the uppermost surface thereof,29, is flush with follower surface 30. The amount of upward travel oflatch 26 is adjusted by the width of slot 24, which in turn depends uponthe amount of surface area 31 needed to engage the forward surface of acartridge chambering bolt when latch 26 is positioned within theoperative path of the bolt. Latch 26 is moved into the bolt path whensurface 32 on follower finger 23 engages surface 33 on the bottom oflatch 26. Engagement between latch surface 31 and the forward surface ofthe cartridge bolt will block the bolt in its rearwardmost position.

Parallel slits 35, which extend longitudinally of magazine in wall 13,aid a rifieman in the visual determination of the magazine contents.

The skilled artisan will readily perceive that the present invention isadapted for field retro-fitting in a standard ball type magazine withthe least amount Otf tools and skill. For example, the follower in astandard magazine such as 10, may be readily removed by deforming stops20 and removing the follower. Follower 16 may then be inserted withinmagazine 10. Follower guide 14, with latch 26 postiioned within slot 24,is then forced downwardly into magazine 10 adjacent to wall 12. Byproperly dimensioning follower guide 14 a snug fit may be achieved whichwill retain guide 14 in its proper position within the magazine. Stops20 may then be deformed into their former position and the retrofittingof the standard magazine is complete.

In operation, magazine 10 is loaded with a plurality of blankcartridges, and, after all but the last cartridge 40 has been fired fromthe weapon, the follower will be positioned within magazine 10 as shownin FIG. 1. In this position surface 32 on follower finger 23 will engagesurface 33 on latch lower portion 28. After cartridge 40 has been firedand ejected from the weapon, spring 18 will urge follower 16 upwardlywith finger 23 simultaneously moving latch 26 into its uppermostposition at which time surface 31 on latch 26 will engage the forwardsurface of a cartridge chambering bolt and will hold it in itsrearwardmost position until the rifieman reloads the weapon.

In light of the foregoing description it is apparent that a blankcartridge adapter is available for a small arms magazine whicheliminates the safety hazards which have been associated with the priorart devices.

We claim:

1. In a small arms magazine having front and rear walls and a lowerWall, the combination with said magazine of an adapter assembly forfeeding blank cartridges, said assembly comprising:

a cartridge follower having an integral downwardly protruding portion ata rear end thereof, said portion having a tongue extending rearwardlytherealong, said tongue having a finger projecting rearwardly therefromat a lower end thereof,

an elongated follower guide positioned within said magazine along saidrear wall, said guide having a front wall with a longitudinal groovetherein slidably receiving said tongue, said guide further having a rearwall with a slot therein extending transversely to said groove, saidslot located a predetermined distance upwardly from said lower wall andintersecting said groove to define a rectangular aperture for registrywith said finger,

a latch having an upwardly protruding portion and a lower portionextending transversely thereto at a lowermost end thereof, said lowerportion being slidably positioned within said slot for reciprocatingbetween upper and lower ositions upon operative engagement with saidfinger, and

means within said magazine for urging said follower upwardly so thatwhen a last cartridge has been expended, said finger will engage saidlatch and move it into the operative path of a cartridge chamberingbolt.

2. The magazine as recited in claim 1 wherein said urging means includesa compression spring positioned between said flower and said lower wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,350,619 8/1920 Payne 42181,743,472 1/1930 Meyer 4217 2,396,816 3/1946 Boudreau 4250 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,737 1/1906 Great Britain.

BENJAMlN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner

